Firefly
by Ninja Magic
Summary: Born in fire, a new force rises. Watch out world, here comes the Firefly. A dark and not completely sane Naruto fanfic.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto.

Author's Note: This story is written in response to a challenge by EDelta88

Thoughts are underlined

Chapter 1:

In life there were heroes and villains, peasants and kings, lords and servants, warriors and merchants, but what really separated one person from the other? Despite the thinking of several members of the Hyuuga, there was no destiny. A person was not destined for greatness or anything else really. A person's life was molded by their choices and a person's choices were molded by their environment, and the sometimes extraordinary circumstances and events that befall them. Through events beyond our control, heroes can become villains, villains can become heroes, and a nobody can change the world.

A chief example of this was Kaji Koumeiseidai, an ordinary man. A civilian within Konohagakure, he graduated from the University of Kazangan with a degree in Chemistry, which he used to get a job in a pharmaceutical company. His entire life revolved around his wife and his daughter, and when his wife died of cancer, that changed to just his daughter. His daughter Mitsukai was his entire life. His heart and soul. Everything that he was revolved around her. She was his Angel.

Kaji was moderately successful at his job, but not extremely. He was a genius with chemicals; the problem was he had the business sense of a mushroom. From all appearances it appeared he would have an ordinary life. A man who would live and die with a negligible effect on the big scheme of things. But one day an event completely changed his life, and he made a choice. And for that choice, the whole world would burn.

* * *

Kaji Koumeiseidai was in a very good mood. And why not? The sun was shining, the birds were singing, he had a successful day at work, and the toy store had that dollhouse that Mitsukai wanted.

Well Kaji thought she wanted it. She never actually asked for it, but she did enjoy playing with one of them when she was at a friend's house and Kaji couldn't stand depriving his Angel of anything.

Kaji at the moment was walking home, dreaming of Mitsukai's future. He had big things planned for her. When the oddest feeling rushed down his spine. It was dread. Then the ground started to shake. It started off light, barely noticeable actually. But it got stronger. Until the whole ground was quaking.

Groundquake?

If only it was.

People started screaming and Kaji slowly turned around and in his fear everything in his hands fell to the ground.

He stared into hell.

The Kyuubi had come.

* * *

The fear was crippling. He couldn't move. His body was frozen, ready to die, until a new fear entered his heart. A fear greater and more terrible than anything the Kyuubi could cause. But this fear had purpose, it allowed Kaji to act, and he ran.

And the Kyuubi roared and the world seemed to detonate around him. Billboards shattered. Houses burst into flames, but Kaji didn't care, and continued to run.

She has to be ok, she has to be ok, she has to be ok.

But I'm afraid reality has a way of cutting you down, kicking you than rubbing the salt of truth in the wounds. For what Kaji saw when he got home, sent his heart down to his knees. His house was on fire.

* * *

Thought had completely been wiped away from his mind and replaced with a terror and he ran towards his house. Heedless of the inferno he approached.

With a strength that he didn't know he had, a strength that belied his slight body, he reached one of the walls of his house, and tore right through it like it was paper.

"Mitsukai!"

Kaji desperately searched through the house.

"I'm here honey, call out for daddy!"

The smoke made his eyes burn and his lungs spasm, but he didn't care.

"Mitsukai! Where are you?"

And his foot hit something, and Kaji looked down and bile rose in his throat. It was a small still figure covered in grotesque burns. In places the skin gone and the flesh all that remained. But the true horror that he felt was because the figure had his Angel's face.

"NO!"

She has to be alive, she has to alive. She just hurt; she is going to be ok.

Ignoring the fact that Mitsukai wasn't breathing and her body despite the flames around them was much too cold, he scooped her up into his arms and ran for the hospital.

* * *

Kaji burst through the hospital doors, the facility packed because of the injuries the fox had caused and was still causing.

He screamed, "Emergency! I need a doctor now!"

A doctor quickly came over but when he saw Mitsukai, a look of despair crossed his face.

"Help her!"

"Um… sir"

"Help her now!"

The doctor ran a diagnostic jutsu on the child. He held no hope for the child but there was a slim chance she was still among the living.

Unfortunately, not so.

"She's gone".

"No she is not, you bastard."

Stepping forward Kaji with one hand lifted the doctor off the ground.

"She **is** still alive. Now heal her, or I will bring his whole hospital down on your head."

"I'm sorry sir, but there is nothing I can do. She's dead."

"You're lying; she is going to be fine! Now save her now! If she dies, so do you. Now help her!"

"Security!"

"Why? Why won't you help her? You're a doctor!"

A crowd had formed, and was trying to pull Kaji off the scared doctor. But Kaji shook them off and continued to scream and shake the doctor like a rag doll.

"Why, why won't you save her? I'll do anything!"

Finally Security showed up, delayed by other complications in the hospital, and Kaji's unconscious body hit the floor.

* * *

The Judge had been quite understanding of the circumstances so had let Kaji off with a warning. Not that Kaji particularly cared. Regardless of where he was, or what he did, life was Hell. These days he spent all his time in the garden of his burned down house. Staring at a memorial he made of his daughter which stood next to a memorial he made 2 years ago when his wife died. He had no friends, and no family. His parents had died during the war, struck down by a stray jutsu, and his only sibling was a cop in Kazangan who was killed by a gang war that erupted in the city's slums. Kaji had nobody.

So here he spent his days, staring at the pictures of his wife and child, lighting and replacing the candles when they burned out, cleaning and taking care of the urns that held his wife and child's ashes, and tending the garden. Both his Angel and his Queen had loved the garden.

And that was how thing were for a very long time. Kaji was an unchanging thing in a changing world. He kept to his routine of keeping himself alive, grieving, maintaining the memorials, and gardening. His hair grew unkempt and wild, his eyes and face grew gaunt and sunken, and his body seemed to be collapsing in on itself. It was as if Kaji body was decaying while he was still alive. He was just skin, bone, and pain. He had long ceased to care at all about himself.

And that leads us to the present, 7 years after that horrible day, where Kaji did something that was out of his ordinary routine.

Kaji sat on the ground in front of the memorials, looking at the pictures of his wife and child, and he pulled an object from his pocket.

A razor blade.

With a steady hand he brought that razor to his wrist and prepared to cut. But then he made a decision that would change the world forever.

He had put the razor down.

Why should my baby girl's murderer live, when my Angel is dead?

Why should a demon walk free, when my wife and daughter don't walk at all?

Why should I die, when a monster still lives? 

And Kaji made a decision. He was going to die, he was going to rejoin his family, but he had something he had to do first.

Justice will be done.

As my Angel burned, so shall you.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto.

Thoughts are underlined

Chapter 2:

Kaji was a man possessed and everyone around him, though only unconsciously, understood that. As the man walked down the street dressed in rags with a large case in his hands, the people he passed shied away from him, understanding instinctually there was danger there.

The man strode eventually into an old abandoned building in one of the poorer sections of Konohagakure, walked to the very top, and from the roof looked across a thin and narrow street towards another building. Through a window across the way Kaji saw a young blond boy, with curious whisker-like marks on his cheeks going about making himself a late dinner.

Kyuubi

Putting the case down, he opened it to reveal a crossbow, several score of arrows, as well as his own personal explosive surprise.

As previously said, Kaji was a chemical genius. He knew chemicals like most people knew their own hands. He would have made a fortune selling chemical weapons and explosives if he had the desire, though he didn't as ironically enough he was (or more precisely used to be) a pacifist. Though just because he didn't want to create chemical weapons and explosives did not mean he did not know how to.

Sneaking into his former work place of Karada Pharmeseuticals with the security card that they never took back, he stole a large amount of chemicals which he smuggled back to his house. On his way back he also stopped by a civilian weapons shop. It was closed, so Kaji using some of the chemicals whipped up an acid and burned his way in. In there he saw an old man sweeping up, after a long day of watching the shop. As the old man rushed to the emergency radio that all citizens of Konohagakure were required to have, Kaji eviscerated him with a pocket knife, for Kaji would let nothing get in the way of _Justice_. He then stole a crossbow and some arrows. And made his way home where he proceeded to create explosives. Fire had screwed him, now it will make amends.

Then putting everything in a large case, Kaji left home, and that brings us back to the present.

Gazing at what he fervently and completely believed in his heart to be his daughter's murderer, Kaji treated the arrows with his chemical creations and loaded an arrow into the crossbow.

The chemical compound Kaji made was a strong explosive which detonated 2 seconds after it experienced an impact. With crossbow in hand, Kaji proceeded to aim. He aimed for the boy's heart and waited.

Soon… soon. I will cleanse this city of this murderous scum and thus protect this village from its taint. I regret the deaths of the other people in the building, but sometimes sacrifices are necessary for the greater good.

Naruto, a boy that blissfully was making himself some ramen, suddenly paused and sensing something amiss, looked up. Kaji smiled, Naruto's eyes widened, and the crossbow fired, easily punching through the glass of the window.

The arrow missed Naruto's heart, which was good. However, it pierced his gut, which was bad. Then it exploded, which was worse. Then Kaji cocked another arrow and fired again, and again, and again, until he had only one arrow left.

By this point the whole building had erupted into flames, a cacophonous din of fear, pain and heat.

Something catching his eye, Kaji looked down and saw a ninja with a loose topknot around his early twenties or late teens who stood frozen in sight of the burning building. Then suddenly the man blurred forward with characteristic ninja speed towards the building.

Worry not citizen, the demon is dead. And now my Angel can be at peace.

And with that final thought, Kaji loaded one more arrow, pointed it at his head, and then fired.

* * *

Iruka Umino was one of the teachers within the Ninja Academy and in particular one of Naruto's teachers. Iruka felt for the boy, he really did, but some of Naruto's actions never ceased to confuse him. Naruto wanted to be the very best ninja ever, to be the Hokage, to have the respect of everyone, but he skipped class several times every week. Iruka got a lot of what Naruto did. After his parent died, Iruka had acted out a lot like Naruto did, being the class clown to get attention. For when you had nobody, any attention was better than none, even negative attention was preferable to the crippling despair of being absolutely and completely alone. However, that did not explain why Naruto skipped class.

However, regardless of the reason, Iruka always brought Naruto the assignments from the classes he missed, which was what he was doing now. Then he saw the building and the assignment were the furthest thing from his mind.

Dropping the papers, Iruka froze in shock for about half a second before he blurred into action.

Quickly dashing to the building, Iruka vaunted up the vertical wall towards the window of Naruto's apartment. While he never actually had entered Naruto's apartment for he always gave Naruto the assignments at his door, he was very familiar at this point where the apartment was. Distantly hearing an explosion behind him, he burst through the glass and entered Naruto's apartment.

Naruto was easy to find, just follow the blood. Quickly finding him trapped under a section of one of Naruto's walls, Iruka leapt into action.

Grabbing the burning plaster, ignoring the pain in his hands, he threw the chunk of wall aside.

His movement woke Naruto up, and with skinless and burned lips croaked,

"Why did you save me sensei?"

"Because you're one of my precious students, and I will always protect the people precious to me."

Naruto smiled or at least tried to when suddenly the roof gave out and quickly Iruka threw Naruto to safety, while he was unfortunately crushed beneath the masonry. Hitting his refrigerator as he landed, Naruto blacked out.

* * *

"I want to know how the hell this happened!"

"I don't know Hokage-sama."

The Hokage strode angrily down a hospital corridor followed nervously by one of his assistants.

"A crazed civilian shot Naruto with a quiver of exploding crossbow arrows. Ignoring the question of why this person with both suicidal and murderous tendencies was not receiving psychiatric help, how did this person get passed the wards?"

"According to the forensics team, the seals were sabotaged about, according to their estimates, 2 months ago."

"Ignoring for the moment whoever wanted the boy dead, explain to me how that fact escaped the attention of the inspection team who was at that site 1 week ago during their sweep of that quadrant of the village."

"I don't know sir."

"They are either traitors or incompetent, either way I want them under investigation now. Their treason/ineptitude has cost this village 5 ninja and 400 civilians. I also want to know who sabotaged the seals."

"Yes sir."

With the assistant scurrying off to convey the orders to ANBU, Hiruzen sped up his pace.

You might be wondering why the Hokage said all these things in public, but do understand that even pissed beyond all belief, Hiruzen Sarutobi was no fool. He had placed a special seal in his clothing, a seal he created himself, which would make all words he spoke completely unintelligible to everyone he was not directly addressing.

Coming up to a room, he bit his thumb, and held his bloody thumb to a tiny seal placed on the door frame. The seal activated, analyzing both his chakra signature and the DNA in his blood, and confirming two matches to the information in its records, the door unlocked. If there was not a double match, the seal would promptly inject the person at the site of their thumb with a very potent paralyzing concoction as well as alerting ANBU, and there was no way to unlock the door without using the seal. Opening the door, Hiruzen stepped inside.

Hiruzen then stated,

"Password: Alpha Delta Omega. Code 24. ANBU report."

Suddenly from the shadows a ninja materialized, holding a sword which would have cut off Hiruzen head exactly half a second after the Hokage entered the room unless the Hokage said the password.

"ANBU Dog reporting, Naruto Uzumaki was admitted to this hospital exactly 8.47 hours ago with severe burns, broken bones, and internal injuries. After admission, three doctors refused to treat him citing that the boy was a monster who deserved what he got. They were summarily executed on the spot by your orders. The deaths motivated the other doctors to work harder. Uzumaki just got out of surgery, and is expected to pull through, but nothing is certain. Kyuubi made an attempt to heal the boy 2.62 hours ago, but immediately stopped when it realized that Uzumaki was so young and weak at the moment that the shock to Naruto's body because of its power was doing more damage than it was fixing. Ignoring the three doctors, no attempts either directly or indirectly were made on the boy's life. Besides your visits, one other person has tried to visit Naruto. As per your orders of no visitors, she was refused admittance, so had left her gift at the front desk. I had a Kage Bushin pick them up. Those flowers and their accompanying note on the table next to Uzumaki's bed are from Hinata Hyuuga, the heiress of the Hyuuga clan and a classmate of Uzumaki. They have already been scanned and present no threat."

"Thank you Dog. Return to your post."

"Yes Sir."

And the ANBU immediately blended back into the shadows until there was no trace of his presence at all.

Walking to Naruto's bedside, Hiruzen proceeded to run his own scans on the flowers and note. Paranoia was a good thing in a ninja. The note and flowers tested clean, and the old Hokage smiled.

After a traumatic incident such as this, it is good for Naruto to know that someone his own age cares about him.

Looking at Naruto, hooked up to tubes, wires and machinery, Hiruzen inwardly wept.

"Naruto, I don't know if you can hear me but you will pull through this, for you are strong. You from the moment of your birth have exhibited the will of…"

Hiruzen promptly stopped himself from making a fire metaphor, as considering the circumstances it might not be appropriate.

"…true determination, enthusiasm, and courage. Things that tell me you will be a great man one day. Sleep well Naruto-kun, and heal soon."

Sighing heavily, Hiruzen then left the hospital room.

* * *

The inferno was consuming everything, and Naruto was trapped within it. The flames were closing in, and for Naruto there was no way out. He was again in his apartment, and because of the illogical nature of dreams, there were 100 people, all of them with the attacker's face that he saw, beating on him. Sadly the beating part was not the illogical part, as while that has never happened, some people would certainly like to.

"Monster!"

"Demon!"

"Murderer!"

Naruto's ribs snapped and his body was thrown to the floor near the edge of the approaching flames. His arms were pulled out of their sockets, knives ripped open his flesh, and blood spurted from his lips. And Naruto was ready to die, either from the mob or from the flames surrounding him.

But then his hand brushed the flames, and instead of burning him it healed him. Feeling his body knit itself back together; the fire enveloped him and soothed him. Seeing the mob approaching, Naruto feared for the worst until the fires rose up and burned the attackers to ash. As more attackers kept attacking, so the fire kept burning them, and Naruto fled deeper and deeper into the flames.

Everyone thinks I am a monster. But I am not a monster, everyone else is. Everyone wants to hurt me. Only within the embrace of the flames am I safe from the monsters.

And Naruto snuggled into a blanket of orange flames, and serenaded by the fire's song he fell asleep.

Never noticing that for an instant the flames turned to fur.

* * *

At that very instant within the waking world, Naruto's hospital room burst into flames. And even while his clothes were consumed by the roaring blaze, he remained unburned.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto

Thoughts are underlined

Chapter 3:

Temporarily we must now turn our attention to another character in Naruto's life. The man whose name was Danzo.

Now despite what many might think. Danzo was not an evil man, he was actually a pretty good one. He cared for everyone in the village and everything he did for the sake of Konoha. It was just the things he did that made many people dislike him. There were 2 essential things which gave him a very unpleasant reputation.

While the Sandaime believed in peace treaties and essentially to keep the populace safe by making it so no one wanted to attack them. Danzo believed that the best way to protect the populace was to make it so no one would dare attack them out of fear for their lives.

The ends justify the means. In order to protect the whole, individuals would need to be sacrificed.

An example of the latter would be the organization Root. An illegal organization Danzo created that essentially was composed of brainwashed emotionless super soldiers that were loyal only to Danzo. Another example would be Naruto's current circumstances.

He knew if he could mold Naruto correctly, Naruto and his demonic power could become a great asset to the village. So he needed a way to gain Naruto's trust, and saving someone's life creates trust.

He had people sabotage the wards, but didn't have Naruto attacked directly because the attack cannot be in any way tied to him. He figured that sooner or later somebody would do that job for him. He would then have one of his agents save Naruto and thus gain the Demon Container's loyalty. Children were so easily manipulated. Rather unfortunately, the plan went wrong. Danzo did not expect the attack to be so explosive, and the agent watching Naruto ended being killed by debris. By the time Danzo knew what was happening; Naruto was in a maximum security hospital room and thus out of his reach.

He thought he could snatch Naruto when moving him to another hospital room after the second fire, but Sarutobi (the crafty bastard) insured that no one that Danzo had control over was in the boy's escort detail.

Currently, Danzo figured he would get to Naruto at the boy's mandatory post-traumatic psychological therapy, and if not there, well he was patient. He would get to the boy eventually, and using the power of the demon fox, he would bring Konohagakure into a golden age. And he would take his rightful place as Hokage.

It's only a matter of time.

* * *

**Konohagakure Institute of Psychological Research and Application**

**Dr. Seishin Dokutoru **

**Final report regarding patient Naruto Uzumaki**

**October 24, 9832 PDE **

As regarding the patient Naruto Uzumaki, the subject received horrendous burns and injuries 7 months ago when chemist Kaji Koumeiseidai attempted to murder him with explosive arrows. That incident in addition to the strange fire in his hospital room afterwards has lead to deep level of mental scarring in the patient. Note: The patient has no physical scars from the attack as a result of his special circumstances. Those special circumstance being relevant to the patient's current mental situation is suspected but not confirmed.

In my opinion, the patient should be kept for further treatment. Unfortunately his status as a ninja in training prevents this. As a result of the Ninja bylines of law 142 subsection 15 of the original Konohagakure charter, a ninja or ninja in training cannot be held without consent unless certain criteria are met. And rather unfortunately, the patient does not meet the criteria by the slimmest of margins. That and his refusal to give consent to further treatment means we can't hold him at the institute longer than the mandatory 6 months that the law requires of victims of traumatic incidents.

So I'm afraid that we will have to let the patient go even though he is desperately in need for more therapy and treatment. He leaves the institute tomorrow for a government paid apartment.

* * *

**Konohagakure Herald**

**November 16, 9832 PDE **

**The Firefly Enters The Scene**

**Washi Manako**

Criminals beware! For a new player has entered the game, and they don't like you. Now whether this new figure is a hero or another criminal themselves is not yet determined. What we do know is that the Arashi Rikugun has been found dead. Rikugun, the former head of an underground drug cartel was rumored to have recently taken refuge in Konohagakure. Well that rumor was true, he was hiding out as pharmacist Jurei Hataraki who using his extensive contacts, alibis, a stolen entrance seal, and forged paperwork managed to gain admittance to Konoha. Enough with this history lesson. Rikugan was found dead today in the warehouse district of downtown Konohagakure. His wanted poster lying next to him and word Firefly literally burned into the man's flesh. Witnesses claim to have seen a small figure flying away from the scene. Police quickly identified Rikugun and the body was cremated.

* * *

**Konohagakure Herald**

**October 6, 9837 PDE **

**The Firefly Strikes again**

**Washi Manako**

You guessed again. The Firefly strikes again. A controversial figure, the Firefly's illegal vigilante actions has removed many criminals from our streets, but has performed many acts of arson against buildings and other inanimate objects. Most recently the Firefly has burned down a bakery. The police still reeling from Itachi Uchiha's attack are unable to respond to the attacks by this pint sized arsonist. The question on everyone's mind is still who is the Firefly?

* * *

"Naruto Uzumaki".

Sarutobi regarded the speaker. It was Hiashi Hyuuga, head of the Hyuuga clan. The advisory council was to help him regarding the decisions of the village, so they had frequent meetings.

"What about him?"

"You actually are going to let him become a ninja. Such a thing is incomprehensible. You know what he is".

"I do hope you are not referring to Naruto's tenant."

"I couldn't care less about his tenant. I am talking about the boy being the damn Firefly!"

"There is no proof of that."

"And you don't think it all suspicious that Uzumaki developed pyrokinetic abilities and pyromania that same time an insane arsonist/vigilante appears? That boy's actions are undermining our society. How are people supposed to feel safe when their businesses are being burned down? We have a rogue element out our control that is interfering with our justice system. That boy needs to be stopped!"

"Investigations are being done as we speak. I'll be careful as for a moment there it sounded like you were ordering me. Remember the council's power is dependent on my will. Any power you have is the power I have given you. I have given power to the council because I believe the populace needs to have a say in the workings of government. However, I have the ultimate authority, and the power I have given to the council members I can easily take away."

"Such an action would break the original charter. How well would you govern without the support of the clans?"

"But we are not talking about the support of all the clans; we are talking about the support of your clan. If you turn against me, do you really think anyone would stand with you? I will not allow such dissention within this village. If there is a rebellion and it cannot be handled diplomatically than it will be taken care of through other means. And the power loyal to me is far greater than the power loyal to you. Especially as people realize that if they support me they will be rewarded, while if they oppose me they will be killed. Even if you succeed, no one on this council is fit for the position of Hokage. No one has the political might to run this village or the skill to coordinate all the relations with other countries, nations, and powers. And none of you would agree on who should rule and civil war would erupt. Leaving us weak to the attack that would be caused by the hostility stirred up by your lack of knowledge on our foreign relations. So no one will stand with you, for they realize that being loyal to me is the most favorable outcome to themselves and this village. So what is your decision?"

Hiashi looked around at the other council members, who all tried to avoid looking at him.

"I apologize for my outburst Hokage-sama."

"Then please be seated Hyuuga-san. Now are there any other issues left to discuss for this council meeting? If not, than dismissed."

It took only a few moments for the room to clear.

Hiruzen hunch over in his chair with a sigh. He did not want to be mean, cold, or ruthless. He wanted the village to be a place of peace and harmony, a place where people felt safe, where their ideas could be freely spoken. To this end he made many concessions to attempt to benefit the whole. However, there were limits. He would give his life for Konohagakure, to maintain the glory of the fair village. To insure the roaring flame of Konoha would forever burn bright. He will never allow civil war and unrest to enter his village. No matter what.

Of course there was one other thing that was bothering him. That thing being Naruto Uzumaki.

Hiruzen could freely admit to himself that he wanted the boy to have a happy life. Part of this was out of a sense of guilt because of the attack, partially out of a sense of obligation to the boy's father, and also because he actually cared of the boy and thought he had great potential. While he may currently have some problems, in time Hiruzen knew that Naruto would become a great man who will do great things for the village. However, the problem came from the fact that Naruto may not live that long. The Firefly was a plague and a disease upon the village. The Firefly must die, and if Naruto was the Firefly like he suspected, than Naruto must die as well.

* * *

Waizu Tetsujin looked at his class, which was still a very much so a new concept to him. Before 4 days ago, he was the teaching assistant to a man named Mizuki. Waizu would still likely be Mizuki's assistant if Mizuki was not revealed to be a traitor. Mizuki actually came up with a great plan to commit treason, he just stupid enough to try to pull it off himself. He tried to steal the Forbidden Scroll.

The Forbidden Scroll was an ancient scroll that contained knowledge that has been deemed forbidden for some reason or another, usually because of nearly guaranteed user fatality. It is knowledge that should never be used, but it is too valuable to risk losing. Most of the time, the scroll is kept in the Vault, where it is protected so thoroughly that there is no way anybody without authorization can get access to it. However, every few years or so, the Scroll needs to be taken out of the Vault for maintenance. Sarutobi always does the maintenance himself as he did not trust anybody else with the access to the forbidden knowledge. He takes the scroll out in the early morning, and works on it straight until it is done, then returns it to the Vault to minimize the amount of time the scroll is away from the Vault.

Mizuki somehow found out when the next maintenance session was scheduled. He orchestrated a disaster elsewhere in the village to draw the attention of the Hokage's guards away from Sarutobi's office. Mizuki also used his considerable manipulation skills to trick some idiot into holding Konohamaru, the Hokage's grandson, hostage with a bomb, which drew the Hokage away from his office. So he snuck in ready to steal the scroll, everything going great, until the Hokage returned earlier than he expected and caught him. Now Mizuki was enjoying the rare and wonderful pleasure of being tortured and interrogated for information for as long as he had information to give. When he no longer had any to give, he would likely be killed. It really was a pity, as Waizu liked the guy.

However, Mizuki's fate was not relevant to the situation at hand, which was Waizu's class. As he announced who would be in which squad, he looked around and he took note of variable students, but his eyes inevitably landed on two individuals. Naruto Uzumaki and Kiba Inuzuka. Naruto Uzumaki was the sole survivor of the Yasuragi fire, a fire which stole hundreds of lives. The Kyuubi was probably the only reason Naruto survived, but he did not survive unscathed. Naruto was dark, paranoid, sometimes cruel, sadistic, and far too interested in flames to be healthy. His nature was clearly evident to the other students as around Naruto seat was a very clear and large space as no one wanted to sit near him. On the other hand Kiba Inuzuka caught Waizu's eye because he was glaring at Naruto and if he could get away with it, he was sure that Kiba would have killed Naruto right there on the spot.

The Inuzuka clan was a clan that possessed many traits and characteristics. But if you had to pick one trait to describe them by, there was one that truly stood out from the rest. The trait was loyalty. An Inuzuka's loyalty was not easily earned, but if you do earn it, then you have their loyalty for life. They will stand by you until the day they die. They will support you in any venture you do as long it doesn't interfere with their other loyalties. You will never in your life find a more dedicated and loyal friend and ally. Of course, the opposite was true. If you earned the loathing of an Inuzuka, then they will loath you forever. And if you messed with one Inuzuka, you messed with them all, so the entire clan will also hate you. Unfortunately Naruto engaged the second option.

All Inuzuka have a canine partner. But partner was maybe not the right word. An Inuzuka and their hound were bound by their souls. They are closer then friends, then family, then lovers; they are almost literally one soul in two bodies. Kiba's partner was named Akamaru and Naruto nearly killed him.

The event happened on the day that Naruto returned from psychiatric treatment. Akamaru detecting the massive amount of demonic energy on the boy started barking and snarling at him. Naruto, annoyed, threw a wave of fire at the dog, which badly burned Akamaru. Kiba went berserk, and attacked Naruto. Now this was not some playground spar, this was a boy trying to kill another one. The fight was broken up quickly, but the damage was done. Even after both boys were suspended and much later returned to class, even after Akamaru made a full recovery, Kiba loathed Naruto. And he always will.

It was for this reason that Waizu knew he would regret what he has about to do, but he and the Hokage felt the decision was for the best.

"Squad 7: Hinata Hyuuga, Kiba Inuzuka, and Naruto Uzumaki."


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Naruto belong to Masashi Kishimoto

Thoughts are underlined

Chapter 4:

"What! I refuse to be on the same team as him. Neither me or my family will stand for this!"

Beside Kiba, Akamaru barked agreement. Naruto snidely replied,

"Like I'm supposed to be happy I'm paired with some flea-bitten mutt?"

"Akamaru does not have fleas, and he's not a mutt!"

"Who says I was talking about Akamaru?"

Kiba's scowled, which emphasized a large faded burn scar on his right check and neck, a memento from the fight where Naruto hit him with a fireball at point blank range.

Naruto did not have any mementos from the fight, his healing factor taking care of all the injuries he incurred from Kiba when the Inuzuka was trying to rip his head open.

Akamaru started to growl and bare his fangs.

Before a fight could erupt, it was interrupted.

"Enough!"

Waisu's voice rang out.

"Kiba, you will have to in your life, work with many people you dislike. That is part of life. Get used to it. Both the Hokage and I agree that you and Naruto should be on a team together. Your skills complement each other's well. If you have a problem with your squad, you and your family can talk to the Hokage about it, but until then you will sit down and accept your squad placement and follow your orders. Naruto, don't purposely antagonize Kiba. Regardless of your feelings towards each other, you are ninja now. You are expected to be professional and keep your personal feelings and your duty separate."

When neither Kiba or Naruto responded, Waisu continued with reading out the squads.

After he finished reading the team placements he said,

"I wish all of you the greatest success in your ninja careers. Good luck. Please come to this classroom after lunch to meet with your Jounin instructor. Dismissed."

* * *

After lunch, the ninja gathered in the classroom waiting for their future Jounin commanders. Quickly the Jounin showed up and claimed their students, except for team 7 who just waited for their instructor who didn't show up.

"He's late!"

Naruto glanced at Kiba.

"Shut up Mongrel."

"What did you call me?"

"Oh, I'm sorry, do you not understand human speech? Must be all your clan's inbreeding. Or maybe there's truth to the rumor that an Inuzuka and their dog are closer than lovers."

Kiba leapt at Naruto with a snarl.

There was suddenly a blur, which grabbed Kiba and put him back in his seat. When the blur stopped moving, it was shown to be a tall man with silver hair. Strangely the man had a mask covering his lower face, and his hitai-ate was tilted down covering his left eye.

"Well this certainly isn't the perfect beginning to your professional careers. Meet me on the roof. Don't be late. That would be inconsiderate."

"But you were 3 hours late!"

"I had a good reason. I was attacked by an evil clown wielding a pie and a rubber chicken."

"What?"

"But it turns out the clown wasn't evil but merely misunderstood. In any case, to the roof."

He then disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Team 7 made their way to the roof.

* * *

"Ok let's start with introductions. To get to know each other a little better, help develop a good team dynamic and so forth. Say your name, likes, dislikes, hobbies, dreams, anything that you feel the rest of the squad should know about you."

"Why don't you start you start? We don't know anything about you."

"Ok. My name is Kakashi Hatake. I like some things and dislike others. I have a few hobbies. As for dreams… I have one."

"You told us nothing. Why should we give you information, if you didn't give us any?"

"Because I say so… and that's a good enough reason right there. And I think you just volunteered to be first blondie."

Kiba chuckled a little.

"Fine. My name is Naruto Uzumaki. I like order, peace, and flames. I dislike any form of chaos or disorder, and I currently hate Kiba and his dog. As for hobbies I like fighting and gardening. As for dreams, I dream of peace, for order to be maintained and for innocent people to be able to live without fear. I dream of a world without monsters, and for no one to ever be unjustly attacked or murdered."

"Dogboy go."

"My name in Kiba Inuzuka and this is Akamaru. I like my family and Akamaru. I like my friends, and I also like good food. The best food is food that you need to really chew, stuff like jerky. I dislike soup and stuff you can't chew. I need food with texture. I loath Naruto. My dream is to be a great leader of the Inuzuka clan one day, and for Naruto to receive the punishment he deserves."

Naruto looked at Kiba.

"I was already punished for the incident."

"To the satisfaction of the village, not the clan."

"It was a damn dog. A mangy flea-bitten waste of oxygen filled with disease. It has a brain the size of a walnut, which I guess is why you two get along."

Naruto threw a few coins at Kiba's feet.

"There, now go to the pound and buy yourself a few replacement mutts in case something happens to your current one. Then get over it."

Kiba leapt at Naruto with a snarl, only for Kakashi to catch him and put him back in his seat.

"Yeah, this team is going to be a _pleasure_ to teach. Moving to our next introduction. Let's go… um… just go"

"My n-name is Hinata Hyuuga. I like to press flowers, as well as to better myself. I dislike injustice. M-my hobbies are doing what I like. My dream is to be worthy of being heir to my clan and for the clan to get along."

"Alright, we have… a good mixture of personalities and goals here. I look forward to molding you into deadly ninja of Konoha. However, that will have to wait until you become Genin."

"I-I-I thought w-we were already Genin."

"No, you are potential Genin. The test at the academy was just to weed out the hopeless cases. I'll test you tomorrow. Show up at training ground 3 at 7:00 AM. I suggest you don't eat, or you'll likely throw up during the test. Dismissed."

Kakashi vanished with the three potential genin following suit.

* * *

"Well what's your appraisal Kakashi?"

"Permission to speak freely."

"Granted."

Kakashi and the Hokage were currently in his office, all guards were sent away and the privacy seals were activated.

"Well Hokage-sama, there is no positive team dynamic to speak of, Hinata has no spine, Kiba is so filled with hate that he might end up turning traitor for a chance at revenge and Naruto's… fanatically devoted to a belief system that matches the Firefly's perceived beliefs. Slight question here but why Naruto is still walking around free? How is there any doubt in your mind that he's the Firefly?"

"Many people believe Naruto's the Firefly, myself included. However, the law binds my hand. No action can be taken with concrete evidence, and unfortunately there isn't any. All we have are strong suspicions and some circumstantial evidence that could theoretically be coincidental, though that's unlikely. It's ironic that the law passed to prevent mistreatment of the village's populace is currently hurting them."

"Then the law needs to be bent or broken. I don't think you realize the effects Naruto is having on this village. He acts according to no one's authority but his own. The rules he operates under are not clear. He's a rogue agent who doesn't answer to anyone and there is no specific person to bring him to justice is he abuses his power, which he has. Around 25% of our civilian population has moved away in the last 2 years alone. They moved because they don't know whether or not this unknown individual will arbitrarily decide that they're guilty of something and then kill them. Naruto doesn't take things to trial and has killed people in every walk of life, some being under heavy security. So a civilian thinks, if I break some rule that this guy has, then he kills me, but I don't know any of the rules that this guy has and have no way of finding out. Also there isn't a damn thing I can do about it, because the Firefly's actions have proven very clearly that Konoha's police forces are incompetent idiots. Also there is a good chance that my business or home is going to be destroyed, because the Firefly loves arson. Therefore the terrified civilians run away. If we lose more civilians we might lose our critical minimum civilian capacity, which means Konoha loses its ability to be self-sufficient. If we are forced to become dependent on other powers, then that opens up vulnerabilities that our enemies can exploit. In addition, despite the best efforts of our propaganda agents, news of the Firefly's actions have leaked out into the world. The fact that we have a threat in our home that we have not been able to deal with makes us look weak. If potential clients think we're weak, they might not come to us for business. If the other nations think we're weak, they will seek to take advantage of our perceived weakness and attack us. And while our strength has recovered tremendously since the Kyuubi attack and the various wars and battles that Konoha has fought in, we are still only half as strong as what we should be and only about a quarter as strong as what the outside world believes we are. And while because of the strength of our ninja we might survive multiple attacks, the attacks will leave us weak and easy prey for the other nations, who will descend upon us like vultures. Also there have been talks recently among the people concerning your mind somehow being contaminated and under the Firefly's sway. They speak of doing what needs to be done. I worry in the future we might have mob violence to deal with. I care about Naruto, he is the only thing I have left of my sensei, I briefly held him in my arms when he was a baby… but for the sake of the village and all its inhabitants, we have do something about him now. It doesn't by any means have to be execution, but the threat that Naruto poses must in some way be neutralized."

"I know already about everything you're saying Kakashi, but there is more to this situation that you don't know. When Konoha was created, it was a scary concept for many people. It was taking nomads, independent clans, and soldiers for hire and binding them together in one society ruled by one man. People have long memories and remembered clearly the horrors of the Gouka Kingdom a century before. Therefore to reassure and ease the minds of the people, the Shodai Hokage passed into law a document. The document, the Konohagakure charter, among other things placed constraints and limitations upon the Hokage's power and it guarantees the rights that every citizen has. One rule was that the Hokage cannot take action against a person without proof. For over hundred years the charter has been obeyed and followed. It is in many ways the foundation that this village is built upon. It binds the village together, and it is what is allowing civilians to live in essentially a dictatorship without fear of my actions. If I were to take action against Naruto, several things would happen. Most people would be overjoyed; however some people would realize that to do so I broke the charter. People would realize that if I can choose to break the charter, I could break again. The essential human rights that they have taken for granted their entire lives they will no longer be able to count on. The Firefly may spread terror and might cause damage, but that will be nothing compared to what would happen if the people thought I was out of control. I am an extremely powerful person, physically and politically, and with an entire army at my call. If I were to, for a lack of better word, become evil there is not a damn thing anyone in Konoha could do to stop me. The only reason people are not terrified of me is that they take for granted the charter. If I took action against Naruto, the village as it is, the values it holds, would very likely be destroyed."

"So why don't you take an action against Naruto secretly. I mean what's one more secret within Konoha?"

"I realize that and I have a plan to that effect if it proves necessary. However, secrets have a tendency to be eventually brought to light, which would be disastrous in this situation. In any case, I will not give up on Naruto yet. I remember how he used to be, so sweet and innocent. Perhaps a little too loud to be an effective ninja but I am sure he would have outgrown that. That boy is still in there somewhere."

"That boy might be dead."

"I do not give up on people, as you should know."

"There is a big difference between his situation and mine Hokage-sama. Even in the very depths of the worst part of my episodes I was only a danger to myself. Naruto is dangerous to everyone around him. You know what he did to Danzo."

"Understood, but Danzo in many ways deserved what he got, especially considered what we learned about his Orochimaru connection. In any case, Konoha is hosting the next Chunin Exam in a few months. At the end of the examinations, if there is not a positive change in Naruto's behavior then he will be dealt with. My instructions for you are to keep your team busy, either training or on missions. Don't give Naruto time or opportunity to be the Firefly. This will hopefully cool the villager's anger a bit; get Naruto to get used to not acting like the Firefly, and for the team to bond. Perhaps doing so would cause Kiba to learn how to tolerate Naruto. Also this might help Hinata's confidence issues. Is there anything else you would say?"

"I still think that Naruto needs to be dealt with now."

"Well I don't. He hasn't killed anyone innocent and because of that I am willing to give him more time. Anything else?"

"No."

"Then dismissed."

* * *

The situation was awkward. It was 8 AM at training ground 3 and Kakashi wasn't there. The silence was very thick and it could not be expected to be broken any time soon. Kiba had a talk with his mom and was doing his best to ignore Naruto, Akamaru was sleeping, Naruto was randomly setting small plants on fire, and Hinata as shy as she was could not be expected to start a conversation. Finally Naruto spoke.

"Where do you think our teacher is?"

"No idea."

"I…I hope he's alright."

"Oh he's fine. He is just a pathetic and worthless waste of a ninja. He's got no skills and is going to teach us squat. We were probably assigned to him to get us out of the way. However, while myself being given this treatment is somewhat expected, I am not sure why you two are. You're both clan heirs, I would figure you two would be given better treatment for the political reasons alone. Perhaps your parents pissed off Sarutobi and this is his revenge."

"But he wouldn't do that."

Before Naruto could respond, Kiba interjected,

"Hey you guys smell something?"

"I swear if you make a fart joke I will kill you."

Akamaru woke up and both Kiba and his noses started to twitch.

In a puff of smoke Kakashi appeared and Kiba started gagging.

"You're late Cyclops".

"Sorry about that. It's a long story that begins with a pipe bursting in my house and ends with me being naked, painted blue, and neck deep in elephant manure. Had to run home to take a shower, guess I have to take another one. Anyway let's get to the test."

Kakashi put a timer on a nearby stump and pointed to his belt where two bells hung from a string.

"You have to noon. If you manage to get a bell then you pass, if not then I fail you back to the academy. You also don't get lunch. I will also tie you to a log so you can watch the others eat lunch. By the way, I am counting Kiba and Akamaru as one unit, so the pair of you only need one bell."

"But there are only two bells?"

"That is correct Kiba. It is only possible for at most two of you to pass, but of course another more likely possibility is that none of you will pass.  
"But all Genin teams have 3 Genin, that's the rule."

"The potential Genin that pass the various tests the Jounin give will be combined and then split up again into 3 man teams. We want to make sure only the best and brightest get the chance to be ninja. I want you to come at me with everything you got. Lethal force is authorized. In any case, do your best and good luck… and go."

Kiba and Hinata quickly dashed off, but Naruto stayed still.

"You're not going to run?"

In response Naruto's hands erupted in flames.

"Now where's the fun in that sensei?"

"You honestly think you can beat me in a straight fight?"

Naruto's eyes flashed.

"Let's find out".

With that he threw his arms forward and launched the flames at Kakashi.

Just as the flames almost reached him, Kakashi dropped to the ground thus avoiding the flames unharmed. Naruto in response redirected those flames and they came at Kakashi's back but he effortlessly dodged it. Naruto suddenly rushed at Kakashi, his speed was incredible, but Kakashi was faster and calmly grabbed Naruto's arm and pulled his gut into his knee, transferred his weight and threw him behind him.

"You really should have thought of a plan".

Eyes flashing red, Naruto threw an enormous 5 meter wide fire ball at Kakashi, which connected.

As the smoke cleared instead of seeing a burnt Kakashi, all Naruto saw was a 2 square meter wall rising out of the ground.

Behind the wall, Kakashi kicked the wall and it broke free of the ground and flew at Naruto, who dodged it by flying up. Hovering in midair, Naruto flew until he was right above Kakashi and threw another fireball, this time Kakashi didn't dodge it but rather performed some jutsu that caused it to be bounced back at Naruto though it was bounced back twice as fast and twice as strong. The fireball connected and Naruto was knocked out of the sky. Kakashi then stomped the ground and the ground beneath Naruto's falling body liquefied and flew at Naruto's body. Wrapping around his body like sheets, they solidified then slammed him into the ground. When the dust from the collision cleared Naruto was buried neck deep in the ground with just his head sticking out. He immediately tried to escape but couldn't move. With a roar he summoned a large amount of chakra and tried to get out but his body didn't budge.

"You sure got a lot of fire and passion kid, keep it up and I'm sure you'll become a_head_ in life."

In response to the joke, Naruto shot a gout of flames at Kakashi through his mouth, who dodged it. He then with a gesture erected a thick tall wall a few centimeters in front of Naruto's face.

"Word of advice, never performed such an obvious attack when you're in such a compromised position unless you are absolutely positive the attack will work. So who's next? I am a bit surprised Kiba hasn't attacked yet; I have heard such great things about the Inuzuka clan. About their bravery and courage and strength… guess it's just hot air."

Kakashi faintly heard a growl and under his mask he smiled. He then bent his entire body back to a 90 degree angle as Kiba flew over him passing through the space his head was.

Kiba snarled, his fangs and claws gleaming as he attacked Kakashi, but the Jounin dodged every blow effortlessly. Suddenly Akamaru appeared behind Kakashi and bit down hard on the man's throat, which was followed up by Kiba's right claw sinking into the man's face.

For an instant, a moment of panic went through Kiba's mind as he realized what he had done, but then Kakashi's body dissolved and a bright green liquid splashed over Akamaru and himself. The pair instantly collapsed to the ground and started throwing up.

Kakashi rose up from the ground, completely unharmed and said,

"It was supposed to be a surprise but I underestimated the Inuzuka sense of smell. This is actually what you were smelling before, because confidentially speaking I wasn't really neck deep in manure. Though there is manure in it. What else did I put in there… let see some skunk juice, spoiled milk, some stuff from my septic tank, a few more odds and ends, and some odd gunk from the north wall of my basement. Given your enhanced sense of smell, this must be excruciatingly painful for you. You really should work on not being goaded so easily. Come on Hinata, let's go! I got a book with my name on it… quite literally in fact. Should I? Why not? It's not like anyone here can give me a challenge."

Kakashi takes an orange covered book from a belt pouch and opens it up. He starts reading and chuckles.

"Oh you naughty and bodacious vixen, you're making that poor man blush."

Then he noticed a smoke grenade heading towards him.

"Finally some strategy. We might have an actual ninja here. You should take note boys."

The grenade exploded in midair bathing the area in smoke, which quickly cleared with a hand seal from Kakashi. As soon as he did so he noticed Hinata heading towards him, her eyes bulging with her clan's Byakugan, her hands packed so intensely with Chakra that the energy was clearly visible to the eye.

Side stepping the blow, Kakashi struck her softly (for him anyway) sending her flying forward into the ground. When she got up a moment later she noticed 4 Kakashis standing around her. There was then a blinding flash and Hinata screamed and dropped to the ground, with her hands over her eyes.

"Four extra strength flash grenades, activated simultaneously from 4 different directions. Particularly painful and disabling for someone with extremely sensitive eyes, which … you do. Oh just a quick note, I modified the grenades to not produce sound as I want you to be able to hear me. Speaking of which, listen up my aspiring genin, got some words of wisdom for you. I have taught you all some valuable lessons. Lesson 1: If you act without a plan, you will lose. Lesson 2: If you lose your head and allow yourself to be manipulated/goaded into doing something stupid, you will lose. Lesson 3: I am sure you have all noticed and appreciated that I have defeated all of you by using your greatest strength against you, Naruto's flames, Kiba and Akamarus' noses, and Hinata's eyes. Every object, every person, every technique, every strategy, everything in life, no matter how powerful or perfect it seems, is not infallible. Everything has flaws. It is our jobs as ninja to manipulate and exploit those flaws to accomplish our objectives. But please realize that while it is a good ninja who can exploit their opponent's weaknesses and subvert their strengths, it is a great ninja who can prevent their weaknesses from being taken advantage of. This is a very difficult task, as often our strengths and weaknesses are intertwined, the latter cannot be eliminated without removing the former. Sometimes you can't cover your weaknesses alone. And as you all reflect upon my sage words of wisdom, I shall continue my book. One last note, tick tock, tick tock, time's running out on the clock. Bye."

With that Kakashi disappeared in a puff of smoke.

The wall of earth in front of Naruto dissolved into the ground.

* * *

It was the worst smell that either Kiba or Akamaru had ever encountered. It felt like someone was stabbing their brain through their noses. They tried to use the techniques they were taught to dampen the smells, but they couldn't concentrate. They both felt their pain and because of their bond they felt each other's pain. Also because of their bond they felt their own pain again reflected through the other.

Kiba was collapsed on the ground, every once in a while his body going into dry heaves, his stomach has long since emptied. He was vaguely aware of Naruto screaming profanity and breathing fire. Strangely he didn't feel any hate, probably due to the smell distracting him.

One spark from Naruto's fire fell on the liquid on his arm and Kiba watched and grinned as the liquid that it came in contact with dissolved and the smell reduced a little bit. He had an idea.

"Hey Uzumaki, breathe fire on me."

"This some kind of trick?"

"No, your fire dissolved the liquid."

"Why should I help you?"

"Think of it this way, you help me out, I'll get you out of your little predicament."

"I don't need you Inuzuka."

"I think you do. Also think of it this way. I am asking you to attack me with fire when I can't protect myself. When is this ever going to happen again?"

"Good point."

Naruto carefully burned off the liquid on Kiba and Akamaru.

"Thanks for helping Akamaru too."

"I'm generous that way; now get me the hell out of here!"

Kiba then smelled something.

"Akamaru, you help Uzumaki, I got to take care of something." Akamaru went to Naruto and after a brief tense stare down started to try to dig him out.

* * *

What Kiba smelled was Boushi, an herb that if he remembered right from his woods lore knowledge, was very effective at healing eye injuries.

After a few minutes he found a small patch of the herb half buried under some tree roots.

He grabbed some, mashed it up, mixed it with some water to create a paste, and ran to Hinata.

* * *

To the doujutsu user clans, the clans with special genetic abilities related to the eyes, the health of the eyes and the ability to use their abilities was very important. While the degree of how much varies, the individual's ability to use their doujutsu determined status, a critical part of their clan's identity, and their ability to fight and function. The Hyuga were no exception. While not quite to the extent of the nearly extinct Uchiha clan, utmost importance was placed on a Hyuga's ability to use their Byakugan, the legendary eyes of the clan.

Hinata was the heir to the clan though she really never felt that way. She has always felt weak, stupid, and undeserving of her position as heiress. She felt like she was a loser, and that everyone saw her the same way. Her insecurities were exasperated by an overly demanding and harsh father who seemed to enjoy yelling. She can only imagine how he would yell now. She was blind. It hurt to open her eyes, she couldn't activate her bloodline, and when she did open her eyes she only saw the color white. She could imagine his reaction.

"You were practically worthless before! Now what use are you? What use is a blind Hyuga?"

"Hey Hinata."

Kiba?

"I know you can't see me but listen for a second. I got something that I think will help your eyes."

Hinata felt something being applied to his eyes and slowly her vision started to improve. After 10 minutes she could see again and activate her bloodline, though her eyes still stung a little.

* * *

"So any progress over here?"

Akamaru barked a negative and continued to dig but his claws were not sinking into the ground, just bouncing off the dirt.

Kiba grabbed a branch of the ground, used Henge to transform it into a shovel and started digging, only to have no progress.

From behind them came Hinata who said softly.

"The dirt is bound together and protected by chakra. The chakra sustains itself by feeding on Naruto's chakra."

"You mean like a damn parasite?"

"Y-yes. Um… I think I can help. I can disrupt the chakra."

Hinata slammed her hand into the dirt next to Naruto's head, and there was a blue flash of light. Suddenly the dirt around Naruto disintegrated to dust leaving him in a pit, which he was easily able to jump out of.

"Damn, Kakashi is a jack-ass. Given what happened, I think the bastard is trying to tell us something. I think he wants us to work together."

"Why the hell would we work together? Only 2 of us can pass, no matter what at least one of us will fail."

"I think that's the point; he's testing whether we have the ability to sacrifice ourselves for the mission."

"I don't want to work with you."

"Is the smell out of your nose yet?"

"Point taken. You got a plan?"

"Not yet".

Hinata tried to get their attention, but they didn't hear her and continued talking.

Suddenly Akamaru barked once very loudly and Naruto and Kiba's conversation stopped and they turned to Akamaru who pointed his paw at Hinata.

With everyone's attention on her, she blushed slightly and said,

"I have a plan."

* * *

Kakashi smiled, it looks like they might get it. This team might be the one. He had honestly never left the three potential genin and had watched them escape, realize to some extent the purpose of his test, as well discuss a plan. He didn't actually listen to their plan, (leaving as soon as they started discussing it), because he wanted to allow them to have some chance at success, but he reminded himself to tell them later the importance of discussing strategies and plans more covertly than they did.

"Hey!"

Kakashi turned to see Naruto standing at the edge of the clearing he was currently in.

"Ready for round 2?"

Naruto's response was a fireball, which he dodged, only to find himself having dodged into the path of Kiba's claws. Kakashi grabbed Kiba's arm to throw him but detected Akamaru heading towards him so he threw Kiba at him and leapt back to gain some distance only for his journey backwards to be cut off by a wall of flames. Ahead of him he saw Kiba and Akamaru heading for him, and the wall of flames folded in on itself trying to entrap him.

Behind his mask, Kakashi smiled.

* * *

For all his character flaws, Hiashi was an extremely skilled and powerful man, both politically and physically. He believed strongly in the importance of being prepared. While he believed that the Hyuuga style of fighting was vastly superior to outsider techniques, he demanded of his daughters a certain level of proficiency in those techniques. For all skills can be useful, and he felt it was better to have a skill and not need it than to need that skill and not have it.

Therefore Hinata had some skill in archery, though she didn't think she was that good. However, her part in the plan required her to be good so she needed to concentrate. With a bow and an arrow in her hands she carefully aimed. Her Byuugan activated, she stared at her target. Her vision was still slightly painful but it was bearable and ignorable. She saw everything going on with Kakashi. He saw his heart pumping, his muscles twitching, his blood moving. She carefully watched him in order to find a pattern in his movements; her first shot had to be right.

For a moment, indecision and panic raced towards her at the thought of missing and thus failing Kiba and Naruto but she pushed through it and fired.

The arrow headed for Kakashi's head, but an instant before contact Kakashi caught it… as expected.

The arrow instantly exploded as a result of the contact activated explosive tags on its shaft. Kakashi was thrown off balance and was temporarily disorientated. Almost immediately after the explosion a narrow and intense fire beam severed the strings connected the bells to Kakashi's belt, which caused them to fall into Akamaru's waiting mouth. Akamaru then brought the bells to Kiba. Holding the bells up, Kiba said loudly,

"We win!"

"Congratulations. You are the first team to ever get the bells from me. It is an impressive achievement, but there are still only two bells. So who gets them Kiba?"

"Myself and Hinata."

"What!"

"I see."

* * *

Naruto was tied to a wooden post, the other two members of the team sitting on the ground next to it.

Kakashi said,

"Now listen up. I have good news and bad news for you three. The good news is that only Hinata will be sent back to the academy. The bad news is the rest of you fail and are being kicked out of all the military branches of Konoha permanently."

"Why, we got the bells?"

"I lied, it's another one of those things that ninja do. The reason I am having you two booted out is that you missed the most important point of your assignment completely. You don't care about each other. You helped each other in order to help yourselves."

"But that how human interactions work. Altruism is a myth; all so called selfless acts are done in order to promote a person's self interests."

"I disagree and I'm in charge here. Hinata is only sent back to the academy because she actually cares. She didn't actually do anything with it, but 15 years of observing people and deciphering their emotions has lead me to the conclusion that she does care."

"But Uzumaki and I hate each other, how can we care about each other?"

"The thing about teams bound together by chains of greed, the chains are strong but at the same time fragile. They break, which endangers everyone. I grew up in war, and saw many teams like this and I saw the members of those teams die as the teams broke apart when they were faced with the hardship that befell them. I witnessed people die as a result of those teams failing. A person motivated to help others to help themselves cannot be counted on to help others when that action endangers themselves or they have found a way to help themselves more by not helping. Behind me is the memorial stone that lists the people of who have died for this village. Many died as a result of problems within the team, when a person hesitated to save a teammate because individual reasons. To allow you two to be ninja would be to endanger this village, this country, and yourselves."

"That still doesn't explain how you expect us to care about each other."

"I expect it because you're ninja. Regardless of your feelings towards each other off duty, when on assignment, you're family. I have worked alongside hundreds of people that I didn't like. Some of those people I actually hated. However, the instant we went on the field, they became my brothers and sisters. I was willing to die for them and vice versa. It is only a team bound by love, affection, and true loyalty that can theoretically withstand the storm that life throws at them. It is only this kind of team can function at its best. I learned these lessons on the battlefield. However, I realize you're young, in this time of peace you have not had the chance to learn this lesson. So I am giving you three another chance. But it will be much harder this time. Better eat your lunch. Oh and don't give Naruto any food, for he did fail to get a bell. If anyone disobeys I am failing the entire team on the spot."

Kakashi disappeared and Kiba, Akamaru, and Hinata dug into their lunches, which were provided to them by Kakashi on the ground nearby.

Naruto's stomach growled and everyone slowly stopped eating. Hinata started to extend her food to Naruto but lost her courage part way through and withdrew. Kiba sniffed the air and started to extend his food as well but then Naruto spoke,

"I will not fail because of your stupidity. I can deal with a little hunger. Why do you want to help me anyway?"

"I don't want to help you. It is just that if you're hungry, you're going to be even more useless than you already were. Also there is no way we can overpower Kakashi-sensei and we obviously can't sneak up on him if your stomach is sounding like a damn lawnmower."

Naruto's stomach growled again very loudly.

"Well Kakashi-sensei never said you had to stay tied, so you could escape any time."

"True."

Naruto tried to escape, but 5 minutes later was still tied.

Kiba looked at the knot.

"This is a first year knot. 4 year olds could escape from this. How the hell did you pass the escape classes at the academy?"

Naruto ignored him and continued to try to escape for another 10 minutes.

"This is pathetic."

Kiba undid the knot.

"Now I just realized I have to go to the bathroom. I'll be the woods for a few minutes. I'll leave my food right here. Nobody better steal any of my food or I'll be pissed."

Kiba ran off. Akamaru looked at Naruto, growled softly, and curled up to take a nap.

Naruto quickly ate half of Kiba's food. He was going to finish it but Hinata whispered,

"You can finish mine. I ate breakfast so I'm really full."

"You're not allowed to give me food."

Hinata then fainted, but when on the ground she gave a quick wink.

Naauto proceeded to eat the rest of her food.

Kiba returned a minute later.

"Hey someone stole my food. How involuntary. I didn't want this at all. I clearly did not give my food to anyone, as I was clearly stolen from."

"Shut up Inuzuka."

"Ahem!"

Naruto and Kiba turned to see Kakashi.

"You can get up Hinata. I appreciate that you guys have some creativity that you tried to circumvent the spirit of the law by finding loopholes in the letter, both things having value to a ninja. You just didn't do it that well. Kiba, you have no acting ability. Hinata, you were a little better but I noticed you releasing chakra when you fell to cushion your head. Also you all disobeyed me. I explicitly ordered you to not give Naruto food, but you did. Why?"

"Because you make no sense. You lectured us about teamwork and treating your teammates like family, and then you asked us to allow Uzumaki to starve. That's not what you do for family. You protect your family, regardless of whatever the hell anyone says about it. I hate him, I'll bluntly say it, but we're on the same team and I guess teams stick together always, no matter what."

"Do you agree with your teammate Hinata and Naruto?"

"Y-yes."

"I suppose I do, except for the parts about hating me."

"Then you all… pass."

"What!"

"Kiba says it best. Your teammates are your family. You protect your family, regardless of whatever the hell anyone says about it. Rules are important, but you need to have to have to put your team above them in order to truly be great. People who break the rules are trash, but people who abandon their comrades are worse than trash."

"So we're trash right now?"

"Yes. While not as bad as abandoning your team, breaking the rules is a very horrible act. It can be insubordination at the very least, but it could be treason, which means execution. I am not condoning breaking the rules, but merely stating it's the lesser of two evils. If possible don't do either. Our first team meeting is tomorrow, right here, at 6 am. Now I got to go, so dismissed."

He disappeared and Kiba said,

"Hey Hinata, my clan always throws a big party at this time, a way to congratulate the Genin who passed and a way to console the people who didn't. I can bring guests, you want to go?"

"I'm sorry Kiba, I have a training session with Father. Bye"

She then disappeared.

"I would invite you Uzumaki but I really don't want to. You wouldn't like the party anyway. In case you don't know, the entire clan hates you. Also there tends to be a lot of alcohol at Inuzuka parties, so there is good chance that someone will get drunk enough to attack you."

"Inuzuka, wait a second, I got a question for you."

"What?"

"Why didn't you ask me to burn the gunk off Akamaru?"

"Because I didn't trust you enough not to burn him. It didn't even have to be on purpose, you were so pissed you could have accidentally killed him."

"The same logic would apply to you, weren't you worried I would accidentally kill you?"

"Yeah, but 1. I'm bigger so would be able to handle a fire attack better, also 2. I care about him more than I do myself."

"But it's just a dog."

"Maybe to you, but not to me."

"Wow you're a freak."

"Well at least I have someone who cares about me. If you were to die right now, would anyone give a shit, would anyone attend your funeral? Hell would you even get a funeral, or will you be thrown away with the rest of the trash? People might actually celebrate, yay the evil demon monster is gone, we no longer have to worry about our homes, our lives, or our children."

"You know?"

"About what? The fact you're the container for the Kyuubi or that you're the Firefly?"

"Both actually. So that's the real reason why you hate me, you think I'm the Kyuubi or something like that?"

"Not at all, I couldn't care less about what you are, I care about who you are. And who you are is a psychotic, sadistic bastard who deserves to die."

"If I am so evil then why don't I just kill you right now?"

"Because you're loyal to Konoha. It's a twisted and perverse loyalty, but everything you do in your mind is for the village's benefit, and you know I would benefit this village more alive than dead. Same reason the demon didn't make an appearance against Kakashi-sensei. And you're not even going to deny you're the Firefly?"

"Why bother? We're the only people around, and you're not recording the conversation. You can say this conversation happened, I will deny it, and without hard evidence nothing will happen. The thing is I have always been able to tell when someone is watching/listening to me either directly or indirectly through electronics. My apartment has been searched, I have been followed, my phone has been tapped, and I have never been caught. So I'm not worried."

"So given your apparent loyalty to Konoha, I have to wonder how the hell you think what you do is helpful?

"Why do you think it's not?"

"Let's see… property damage, less business for the village, people moving away, people living in fear of being killed. I don't see any positive aspect."

"How about the reduction in the crime rate? I only target criminals and as the crime rate plummets the Firefly as a result makes fewer appearances. I attack properties when I haven't killed a criminal for a while, to remind any potential criminals that I'm still around and so they know the consequences of any illegal acts. It is an unfortunate fact of human nature is that fear is the only thing that people understand."

"So what, you are still causing far more harm than good."

"Perhaps in your opinion, but I'm not doing this for you. I am not doing it for the rich spoiled spawn of the clans who get everything they want. I am doing it for the unfortunate souls who fall through the cracks of the system of an uncaring and corrupt government. There are people who live in absolute terror of being murdered, of being raped, of being abused everyday and the government does nothing. They say they care, but they don't. They arrest the criminal, slap him on the wrist and let him go to continue to brutalize innocent people who just simply are not important enough for the government to care about. To protect those people I will do whatever it takes and I will let nothing get in my way. For my way, through the application of fear is the only way to create peace and to keep the innocent people safe."

"But the government is not like that at all."

"And how would you know, clan heir, nestled in the protective grasp of one of the founding clans, behind gilded gates, separated from the realities of life. But even if my work is doing more harm than good, it is merely a transition and every transition has its rough spots."

"Transition to what?"

"Peace. A utopia where no one will ever be hurt. You see eventually the people will conditioned into behaving properly."

"But it's just a peace born from everyone being in abject terror."

"So? It's better to be afraid than dead. Eventually once I gain enough power I'll close the borders to prevent any outside influences from entering and thus damaging the conditioning. As the country will then be cut off it will be necessary for us to increase our agriculture yield as we currently do not have enough resources to feed the populace. So I will have to conscript many people into being farmers. I also plan to dissolve the military, it won't be necessary anyway, and since they are the people who were most benefited from the old way they would be the most likely members of a rebellion, so I will kill them. I will also kill the Hokage for any potential rebellions would rally behind him. I would also kill any family or friends of his, to prevent any type of revenge from occurring. There will be no need for the current government administration so I will dissolve that too, certainly not a big loss. I would then step back and let the people govern themselves without any interference from a government. I will of course step in if absolutely necessary, but I think after a few dying gasps from the fools stuck to the old ways, people will settle into a glorious new world of no strife, no crime, and no problems."

"Why are you telling me all this?"

"Verbalizing your plans makes them feel more real, more concrete. It is not like you'll do anything about it. I will not anyone get in my way, especially not a small-minded fool who can't see the bigger picture. If you even try to stop me, I'll kill you. I'll creep into your room and slit your throat, then I'll kill your mother, and your cousins, and everyone else within your clan walls, man, woman, and child. So unless you want to cause the deaths of everyone in your family, which I expect you don't, I would suggest staying quiet. I am actually hoping you'll try something; it will give me a good excuse to rid myself of a nuisance. But don't worry about it. If you don't try anything, there is no reason why we can't get along. Enjoy your party."

Naruto disappeared in a flash of flames.

Kiba looked at his right hand and noticed it was trembling.

He took a sniff to check if Naruto was nearby, and when he confirmed he wasn't he sent a thought to Akamaru.

The clan needs to know about this. 


End file.
